Modern African Political Leaders

Rasmussen, R. Kent

ISBN 10: 0816032777 / ISBN 13: 9780816032778

Published by Facts On File, Incorporated, 1998

Former library copy. Pages intact with minimal writing/highlighting. The binding may be loose and creased. Dust jackets/supplements are not included. Includes library markings. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good. Seller Inventory # 9781446-6

Synopsis:

Profiles eight modern African political leaders, including Nelson Mandela and Haile Selassie

Reviews: Grade 7 Up-This collective biography covers leaders representative of the major regions of Africa during a period when many nations on this continent moved from colonial rule to independence. The book begins with Ethiopia's Haile Selassie, who came to power in 1916, and concludes with Nelson Mandela, who was elected president of South Africa in 1994. Also included are Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Leopold Senghor of Senegal, Julius K. Nyerere of Tanzania, Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya, and Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe. Each sketch focuses on a pivotal incident in the man's life that helped to shape his identity and later actions. Through the context of these individual lives, the author is able to bring the political backgrounds and modern history of their various nations into view. Each of the brief profiles includes a list for further reading. Clear black-and-white photographs, two to a chapter, illustrate the text. A useful resource for an area of the curriculum that continues to receive more attention.
Janet Woodward, Garfield High School, Seattle, WA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 7^-12. This entry in the Global Profiles series is an absorbing study of the stark political changes that have happened throughout Africa in the twentieth century. Each of the eight biographical essays focuses on how personal incidents inspired the political actions of a vast array of prominent African men (most notably, South Africa's Nelson Mandela). Representing eight different nations, including Ethiopia, Egypt, and Zimbabwe, the leaders have histories as varied as they are fascinating. Rasmussen hooks the reader into each essay with a brief, dramatic excerpt that encapsulates the pivotal moment in a man's life. The author then offers just the right balance of personal background and social context to provide a clear picture of the impact each leader had on the state of his nation. While never shying away from some harsh incidents inherent in many political upheavals, Rasmussen clearly reveres, if not always the political powerhouses they became, certainly the noble idealists they initially were. Roger Leslie

Bibliographic Details

Title: Modern African Political Leaders
Publisher: Facts On File, Incorporated
Publication Date: 1998
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Good